East Farmlands Loop-Del Norte Road

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Del Norte, CO, US

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Route Overview

We Ride 4

Nonprofit addressing child obesity and healthy lifestyles by getting more kids riding bikes

44 mi.

283 ft.

Easy Flat Spin Through the Farmlands East of Del Norte, CO

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Route Details

This route is a tour of the farmland to the northeast of downtown Del Norte with great views of the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan Mountains as well as the Rio Grande National Forest.

In Del Norte, Colorado, the main crops grown are typical of the San Luis Valley, which is known for its agricultural productivity due to the high elevation and fertile soils. As your roll along the route, you will pass farms and processing centers for the area's primary crops which include:

1. **Potatoes**: The San Luis Valley is one of the largest potato-producing regions in the United States. Del Norte is part of this region, contributing significantly to potato production.
 
2. **Barley**: Barley is a significant crop in Del Norte, especially for malting purposes. The region supplies barley to major breweries.

3. **Alfalfa**: Alfalfa is grown extensively for hay, which is used as livestock feed, particularly in the cattle and dairy industries.

4. **Wheat**: Wheat, particularly hard red winter wheat, is another important crop in the area.

5. **Carrots**: In more recent years, carrot farming has become increasingly common in the region.

The combination of high altitude, cool climate, and well-irrigated soils makes Del Norte and the surrounding San Luis Valley ideal for these crops.

The route starts from the historic @photo[Windsor Hotel](15963891) in downtown Del Norte. Follow the route North across Hwy 160 (Grande Ave). Wind your way briefly through the neighborhood and the old @photo[Del Norte Train Depot](15963927) before exiting town briefly on Hwy 112. There is a good shoulder on Hwy 112 and you will only be on it for a few hundred yards but take note as you cross over the Rio Grande River just before turning left off the highway and start working your way through the vast farmlands in the northern and eastern outskirts of town.

At approximately 1.5 miles, look to your right in the pasture and take note of the @photo[herd of buffalo](15960230) grazing in the field. After a few photos, cross over Hwy 112 again and start the 
@slice[long eastward stretch for nearly 13 miles](d,2913.5,23843.8). As you ride this section, look straight ahead off in the distance at the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and glimpses of the peaks of Mt Herald, Cleveland Peak, and Crestone. Look also to the base and you will notice a very large yellowish area that makes up the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

The route turns left at the Sargent school complex and starts making its way north toward the town of @point[Center, CO](d,31635.79). When you reach Center, there is a gas station with a @poi[convenience store](130153696) that you can use for restrooms, food and water.

The route takes you through the small downtown area where there is also a grocery store. After leaving town, the route takes you north and then west before turning south back towards Del Norte. At just over 33 miles, stop at the @poi[sunflower lined canal](130154037) for a brief @photo[photo with the peaks of San Juan National Forest in the background](15960153). Also along this stretch you will encounter numerous @photo[old historic farm structures](15963808) that provide great photo opportunities.

At mile 35 you will arrive back to @point[W CO Rd 7 N](d,56338.35) where you will turn left and retrace your steps back to downtown Del Norte for the last 8.7 miles of the route and great views of the San Juan Mountains.

**Del Norte, CO** - Del Norte, Colorado, sits in the southwest corner of the San Luis Valley along the Rio Grande River, just east of the Rio Grande National Forest and San Juan mountains, south of Penitente Canyon and between Monte Vista and South Fork on Hwy. 160. Like many small mountain towns in Colorado, Del Norte has a rich Native American history, a mining boom the town was built on, an extensive ranching past and present, a population and economic downturn in the mid-1900s, and is now slowly growing, thanks to tourism. The area was once summer ground for the Ute, Kiowa, Navajo and Comanche Native American tribes. Native petroglyphs can still be seen in caves southeast of Del Norte. In 1852 the land where Del Norte now resides was part of unestablished Mexican land, and by 1859 the original settlement was built. The Old Spanish Trail, which linked Santa Fe and Los Angeles, made Del Norte a good stopping point on the trade route. Mexican settlers, like the indigenous people before them, came only for the summer and moved south with the changing of seasons. The Kit Carson Treaty of 1868 sought to remove all Utes from the area to make it safe for mining. The treaty provoked violence, most notably the Meeker Massacre, with Utes defending their right to the land. The 1870s brought mining and ensuing rail lines to Del Norte, and with it the biggest boom ever to come to the small town. At one time, there were more than 200 businesses in West Del Norte, with a downtown filled with saloons, shops, dance halls and an opera house. Del Norte would see cycles of boom and bust throughout the 20th century, but has recently become a blossoming community, due to the abundance of recreational activities provided by the area's unique geography, such as mountain biking, hiking, running, rock climbing, fishing, hunting, rafting and kayaking, cross country skiing, camping, etc. Del Norte is also one of the communities which provides lodging for the nearby Wolf Creek Ski Area. Grande Avenue, the main street through Del Norte, still has many of the facades on its storefronts from the 1800s and early 1900s, reminding its residents and tourists of the town's historic past.

**The Windsor Hotel** - The Windsor Hotel was a main attraction in the 1870s, built in 1874 by Henry Foote. The hotel was the community’s social and commercial center until it declined in the 1970s and closed in 1988. In 1993, “a wrecking ball was literally waiting at the curb,” reads the hotel’s website, before Barbara Culp stopped the demolition and convinced her husband, a local doctor, Raymond Culp, to buy the hotel. Soon after the Windsor Restoration and Historical Association was created and became a nonprofit in 1996 in order to raise funds to rebuild the hotel. Now it is in full working order with 20 rooms, a bistro, dining room and shops. The hotel is the largest building in Del Norte and a centerpiece to the current downtown.

**Center, CO** - Center got its name from its location near the center of the San Luis Valley. It also has the distinction of straddling the border of both Saguache and Rio Grande counties. Center was incorporated into a town in 1907. From early on, it has provided housing and services to those who work in and support the San Luis valley agricultural economy.

East Farmlands Loop-Del Norte Road

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